Comfort Only
by Maldorana
Summary: Hmmm well... How to describe it? It's Maleval, fluff, parallel story of the movie, begins shortly after Maleficent met Diaval... Enjoy!
1. Storming Out

**This is my main story about Maleficent and Diaval. I hope you'll enjoy.  
><strong>

Diaval, in his human form, was following Maleficent through the thick forest of the Moors. He raised an eyebrow as his mistress stumbled without any reason. He only knew her since three months, but he had noticed how strange she's been acting, lately.

First, she changed him back into his beautiful raven self less and less often after his reports. Then, she was always wincing, which wasn't really extraordinary of her, but she at least used to smile when he was making a fool of himself or roll her eyes when he was trying to joke around. Now the only feature that crossed her face was this pain-contorted expression. He wondered if she was all right, but he quickly remembered she was the most powerful magical being of the Moors. What on earth would be able to break her, seriously?

He raised his head as she tripped over something again. Usually, he was the one with the most trouble to walk. He still didn't like that much those long and heavy legs. Why didn't she want to change him back into a raven, anyway? He sighed.

But before he could think of any reasons at all, he saw the fairy fall down before his very eyes. He rushed toward her and knelt by her side.

"Mistress? What's going on? Are you all right?" he asked urgently.

He started to panic when she didn't answer him. After looking her over he figured out she was only unconscious. He took her, rather clumsily in his arms, and hurried to the heart of the forest, hoping to find help from the creatures of the Moors. He was glad she didn't change him back, or he would have never been able to help.

The fairy remained unconscious most of the day. When she woke up, she had to grit her teeth as stabbing pain came across her back. She was lying on her stomach, wrapped up in a wool blanket. It was dark around her, and as her eyes were getting used to the dim light, she recognized her lodge in the ancient ruins. She tried to move to the side, but the pain forced her to stay still.

"You shouldn't try to move," said a voice from the corner of the room.

It was Diaval. She recognized him at once. But his voice was unusually gloomy. He got closer and sat down on the chair by her side.

"What happened?" she asked in a whisper.

"You passed out. Which wasn't very surprising, considering the state of your scars," the raven-man said bluntly.

Her scars? Her wings scars?! Maleficent verged on panic. Did that means he saw the stumps on her back? Her shame, her weakness. That thought sent chills down to her spine, and her inability to move made it even more difficult to bear.

"Were you going to tell me? Or did you simply plan to have me watch you die and I would be happy with my freedom? Was that your plan?" he said coldly.

It was the first time he dared speaking to her with that disrespectful voice.

Though she didn't say anything, he was right, she knew what was going to happen. She blinded herself with denial, as it was out of the question to ask someone's help for that matter. She kind of hoped that her magic would fight the infection from the inside, and it worked at first, but it wasn't enough.

The raven-man looked at her with fierce eyes. He had time to calm down since it happened, but was still very shaken.

Distraught, Diaval got up and spoke, his voice slightly raised but quavering, "I have trusted you. You let me down, Mistress."

With that, he stormed out the front door slamming it behind him.

The door closed with a loud bang, and the silence filled the air. She knew the raven-man has been a very loyal servant, always by her side, never questioning her orders, but she understood why he just abandoned her. First because she had to face it, she grew quite evil, and second because she _did _betray him, Maleficent soon realised. He entrusted her with his life, counting on her to give him protection. What was left for him to stay if she was that weak and pathetic? Even if she happened to enjoy his company after those three months together, he too only had stayed with her by interest. Just like Stefan did. A single tear rolled over her cheek.

The pain in her back had lessened, but she figured it was only because she was going to die, that her senses were decreasing or something. She didn't resist at all when sleep came to take her. The end was near and she couldn't fight it, anyway.

To Be Continued...

****Many thanks to RavenDiablo for beta-reading me and giving me inspiration. Go check-out his fanfiction, it's really great!****


	2. The Bird's Roar

**Thanks all for the reviews and the favs! And thanks again to RavenDiablo for beta-reading!  
><strong>

She opened her eyes slowly, as a blinding light was filling the room. The pain on her back was still aching, and still she was, lying on her stomach. That surely meant she hadn't died just yet, thought the fairy. She lifted her gaze only to see a bowl of water and several fruits next to her. _What on earth-_ She started thinking, but her eyes met Diaval's human form near the window. He was nonchalantly eating grapes.

Their eyes locked and she called out to him in a frail voice, "Diaval?"

"Mistress" he responded flatly.

It was pretty obvious that he was still upset with her. Why would he want to come back?

"I brought food. Eat," he commanded, before staring back at the window.

Fighting the pain, she weakly leaned on her elbows, and obeyed him. Maleficent knew he was watching her from the corner of his eye, and started to wonder what brought him back with grapes, that he knew to be her favourite fruit. She glanced at him and her eyes widened as she started to piece things together: He wanted her to change him back into his original self, so he could fly away and be free.

"Come over here, Diaval," the fairy said softly, lying back on her stomach.

He eyed her suspiciously, but didn't move a muscle. "Why?"

"I'm not sure I'm strong enough to turn you back into a raven from this distance."

"That's a good thing, because you're not turning me into anything until I've fixed you. Is that clear?" he answered firmly.

The fairy looked at him in awe. Now she was just clueless about the whole thing. His reaction didn't make any sense to her. Why would he stay and help her if it wasn't for something in exchange? He seemed so furious at her… Didn't he?

"W-What? Aren't you mad at me?" she let out at once, without being able to hold it back.

"No, you think? Of course I'm mad at you, Maleficent!" he cried, standing up. "You've left yourself dying, without telling _me_ anything! I could have helped! How do you think that made me feel?"

The fairy couldn't answer that, as it appeared she had been mistaken about his intentions from the beginning. She helplessly gazed at him, not knowing what to say.

He had never dared being that sharp with her before. He hoped he would never have to talk to her like that again, because he hated it, not to mention he may not survive it next time. Furthermore, it felt so wrong in his mouth... Especially with her looking so distressed.

But he really _was_ mad at her. He had to make her understand that she couldn't just give up on life, that her life was important. If not to protect the Moors, it was important to him. With his new human feelings, he had realised he grew quite attached to her during those three months together.

"Well I've freaked out. Like big time. Thank you very much, Mistress," he said with an annoyed look on his face.

He had softened his voice, but it still let his deep irritation show. What was he supposed to do if she wasn't capable of thinking rationally when it came to her health? He couldn't take the risk to let her handle everything herself, or something bad was to happen to her.

"Anyway, from now on and until you're strong enough to stand, I'm in charge," he pointed out decidedly.

The fairy who was looking at her servant agape, broke eye contact with him to rest her head on her crossed arms. She felt resigned to do whatever he needed her to, and relieved to see she had someone by her side, relieved he stayed with her despite her weaknesses.

"I thought you left forever…" she managed to say, with a shaken voice.

At this, he bit his lower lip and sat down on the chair beside her. He had to do something to make her feel better.

The raven-man slightly cupped his hand onto one of hers and said with a smirk, "You saved my life that day. It's my turn to save yours."

Her eyes found his and she smiled slightly. He removed his hand, remembering how she felt about touching, and leaned into the chair. At least, she was ok, and the whole scolding scene was behind them, thought Diaval. But the harder part will not being able to keep her alive or preventing her to give up on life. The hard part will be to make her trust him.


	3. NO Touching

**I wanted to wait a little more to publish this chapter, but you can thank Emeraldbuttercup for this early publication and go read her fanfics ^^**

By the end of the day, things were pretty much back to normal already between Diaval and his mistress, thanks to a lot of bickering and a few jokes from the raven-man. He didn't feel really comfortable being in charge, to be honest, and was almost naturally letting her take the upper hand on him as long as it didn't threaten her health. But now that the time had come to tend to her wounds, he couldn't just let her do as she wished.

"I have to apply this balm on your back, or the scars will never heal," he explained her, for what felt like the hundredth time tonight.

"No. Way," she growled. She winced at the pain as she managed to roll on her side to face him. She didn't want to risk him forcing his way to her back. "No touching, remember?"

"It's for your own good! Besides, I'm in charge, remember?"

Now he _was_ getting serious about the whole balm thing. The first five times, he had mentioned it playfully during their slight banter, letting her hope that it was only a joke, or that at least, he wouldn't push that hard. But now that he started to remind her he was in charge with a raising voice, she quickly grew very worried. The feeling must have somehow shown on her face, because he softened at once.

The raven-man wanted to help her, but that was something he had to convince her about. He barely managed to imagine how he would feel – how _she_ would feel – if he forced her to stay still while he unclothed her back to rub her aching scars. He shuddered at the simple idea.

"Trust me. I don't want to hurt you, Mistress," he assured her after an emphatic sigh. "Three months ago, you saved my life and gave me a purpose. How could I possibly want to hurt you?" the raven-man added with a comforting voice.

She knew his argumentation was perfectly logical, but that wasn't a good enough reason. After all, Stephan's betrayal defied common sense to her, and yet, it happened. How could she be sure that wasn't going to happen again with Diaval? He was in man's form after all. What if turning him into a man a little bit every day had made him a real man, with the flaws and all? Without thinking, she let out what was on her mind.

"You're a man. Men are greedy, selfish and they take pleasure hurting other living creatures."

At this, Diaval stiffened with an outraged expression. "Don't say that!" he spat back at once. "I'm not a man! I'm a raven, remember?" he pointed out with fierce pride.

The fact that she thought of him as a mere man was purely insulting. Surely she remembered the day they met? He hated humans as much as she did, even if he liked the new possibilities this form offered him.

She sighed heavily and leaned her head against her arms. "It'll be so much easier if you could just do it in raven form…" she said, almost to herself.

All right, he wasn't _that_ close to humans, but still, they were talking about something rather embarrassing, if not humiliating.

"In human or in raven form, it's still me," he reminded her matter-of-factly.

The fairy raised her head to meet his gaze. His eyes full of genuine kindness were enough to make her feel like everything was all right. She realised she had felt that before when looking at him, but it was the first time she fully appreciated it.

"I know that, Diaval," she said in a whisper.

But that wasn't the problem. What bothered her more was the whole touching thing. The first rule she had set up when they met was _No Touching, especially in human form_. She did so because she couldn't stand the touch of skin anymore. It reminded her too much of that night. Though, she couldn't tell him just like that. She remembered the scene he made the last time she compared him to Stefan. The fairy took a minute to choose her words carefully.

"Still, I'm not confortable letting you rub my naked back or see and even touch my scars," she finally said.

However, she hadn't expected what came next…

"Do you think I'm confortable doing it? I know you, if I do something wrong, you'll turn me into a filthy dog or something," he whined excessively.

She lowered her head to hide the smile that came across her face. It was pretty smart of him pointing out she was going to be in control, anyway. He knew her well: it relaxed her unconsciously. But that didn't change the situation. He was not going to touch her, especially _there_. She stayed silent for a while, eyes closed.

Diaval gave her a few minutes to think this through, and added with a little voice, "I'll be gentle. I promise."

The fairy sighed. He was awfully stubborn, but his attempts were almost touching. She looked at him in the eye, ready to let out what was on her mind.

"That's not the problem, Diaval. I don't want anyone seeing them. I don't want anyone touching me anymore. Never."

"I'm not anyone."

After a short while, she realised it was true. He wasn't anyone, not anymore. He was her faithful companion, always by her side. He was her wings, and so much more. But the last thing she wanted was to ponder about how much their bond grew during those three months together.

She looked deep in thoughts so he added without thinking, "Besides, I already did all of this, when you were unconscious."

She glared at him with furious eyes. _Wooops, maybe he shouldn't have say that_, the raven-man thought at once.

"I beg your pardon?" she hissed.

"I-I applied the balm on your back while you were u-unconscious," he stuttered. Now he _knew_ he was in big trouble.

"How _dare_ you?" the fairy snarled, staring at him with fierce emerald eyes. She tried to straighten in her bed, but pain shot through her back, and she stayed still, wincing from pain and anger.

Even knowing she was way too weak to harm him in any way, her ferocious eyes made him quaver oddly on his chair. She frightened him to death right now, but he had to convince her, otherwise, she would never get better. So he gathered what was left of his courage, and he hurriedly explained.

"That's not how you think, Mistress, I swear! I didn't want to disobey you, but it was either that or letting you die, so I _had_ to do something." He fidgeted nervously on his chair and added with a whining voice, "I'm sorry Mistress, but I didn't want you to die."

The fairy narrowed her eyes at him. She believed him, all right, but she was still furious. She knew he took the right decision, but she wanted to find a good reason to blame him anyway.

"How come you didn't just call healer fairies to take care of me? You could have killed me by being so negligent!" she snapped at him. "And where did you get the balm, anyway? What if it had worsened the infection?" she inquired, even if she knew that wasn't true, as the pain in her back had lessened since yesterday.

He raised an eyebrow at her. Was she accusing him of letting her die by carelessness? He struggled against the urge to ask her just who she thought she was to scold him on that matter, and answered anyway, "I figured you didn't want all the folks of the Moors seeing you like that, so I only summoned one healer fairy, she told me what was the problem and how to heal you, then I brought you here, so your secret was safe. About the balm, she showed me how to brew it."

He lowered his head and closed his eyes a few seconds as silence filled the air uncomfortably. There was a very big chance she would scold him anyway, pointing out she would have rather had the healer fairies to tend to her wounds, and that furthermore that wasn't his place to decide such things.

However, her face began to soften, and her muscles relaxed a bit. When she thought about it, he did manage admirably, considering that three months ago, he was just a bird. He saved her life and her pride this day by taking conflicting decisions, and it seems his interests were lying with hers all along.

"As a matter of fact… I have to admit you handled the situation quite well," she finally let out absent-mindedly.

He looked up at her with wide eyes, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Except my advanced state of panic… I guess I did," he playfully praised.

She glanced at him for a few seconds. He had the joyful expression of the loyal servant that was just glad to have pleased his mistress even in the worst situation.

She finally rolled back on her stomach with a wincing face. Now, she was pretty sure she could trust him on this to not take advantage of the situation in any way. It would be awkward and uncomfortable, but at least it would be done.

"Alright. Do it."

"Yes, Mistress."

**Special thanks to RavenDiablo again for beta-reading.**


	4. Through Pain and Cries

**I wanted to wait a little more to publish this chapter, but you can thank Emeraldbuttercup for this early publication and go read her fanfics ^^**

By the end of the day, things were pretty much back to normal already between Diaval and his mistress, thanks to a lot of bickering and a few jokes from the raven-man. He didn't feel really comfortable being in charge, to be honest, and was almost naturally letting her take the upper hand on him as long as it didn't threaten her health. But now that the time had come to tend to her wounds, he couldn't just let her do as she wished.

"I have to apply this balm on your back, or the scars will never heal," he explained her, for what felt like the hundredth time tonight.

"No. Way," she growled. She winced at the pain as she managed to roll on her side to face him. She didn't want to risk him forcing his way to her back. "No touching, remember?"

"It's for your own good! Besides, I'm in charge, remember?"

Now he _was_ getting serious about the whole balm thing. The first five times, he had mentioned it playfully during their slight banter, letting her hope that it was only a joke, or that at least, he wouldn't push that hard. But now that he started to remind her he was in charge with a raising voice, she quickly grew very worried. The feeling must have somehow shown on her face, because he softened at once.

The raven-man wanted to help her, but that was something he had to convince her about. He barely managed to imagine how he would feel – how _she_ would feel – if he forced her to stay still while he unclothed her back to rub her aching scars. He shuddered at the simple idea.

"Trust me. I don't want to hurt you, Mistress," he assured her after an emphatic sigh. "Three months ago, you saved my life and gave me a purpose. How could I possibly want to hurt you?" the raven-man added with a comforting voice.

She knew his argumentation was perfectly logical, but that wasn't a good enough reason. After all, Stephan's betrayal defied common sense to her, and yet, it happened. How could she be sure that wasn't going to happen again with Diaval? He was in man's form after all. What if turning him into a man a little bit every day had made him a real man, with the flaws and all? Without thinking, she let out what was on her mind.

"You're a man. Men are greedy, selfish and they take pleasure hurting other living creatures."

At this, Diaval stiffened with an outraged expression. "Don't say that!" he spat back at once. "I'm not a man! I'm a raven, remember?" he pointed out with fierce pride.

The fact that she thought of him as a mere man was purely insulting. Surely she remembered the day they met? He hated humans as much as she did, even if he liked the new possibilities this form offered him.

She sighed heavily and leaned her head against her arms. "It'll be so much easier if you could just do it in raven form…" she said, almost to herself.

All right, he wasn't _that_ close to humans, but still, they were talking about something rather embarrassing, if not humiliating.

"In human or in raven form, it's still me," he reminded her matter-of-factly.

The fairy raised her head to meet his gaze. His eyes full of genuine kindness were enough to make her feel like everything was all right. She realised she had felt that before when looking at him, but it was the first time she fully appreciated it.

"I know that, Diaval," she said in a whisper.

But that wasn't the problem. What bothered her more was the whole touching thing. The first rule she had set up when they met was _No Touching, especially in human form_. She did so because she couldn't stand the touch of skin anymore. It reminded her too much of that night. Though, she couldn't tell him just like that. She remembered the scene he made the last time she compared him to Stefan. The fairy took a minute to choose her words carefully.

"Still, I'm not confortable letting you rub my naked back or see and even touch my scars," she finally said.

However, she hadn't expected what came next…

"Do you think I'm confortable doing it? I know you, if I do something wrong, you'll turn me into a filthy dog or something," he whined excessively.

She lowered her head to hide the smile that came across her face. It was pretty smart of him pointing out she was going to be in control, anyway. He knew her well: it relaxed her unconsciously. But that didn't change the situation. He was not going to touch her, especially _there_. She stayed silent for a while, eyes closed.

Diaval gave her a few minutes to think this through, and added with a little voice, "I'll be gentle. I promise."

The fairy sighed. He was awfully stubborn, but his attempts were almost touching. She looked at him in the eye, ready to let out what was on her mind.

"That's not the problem, Diaval. I don't want anyone seeing them. I don't want anyone touching me anymore. Never."

"I'm not anyone."

After a short while, she realised it was true. He wasn't anyone, not anymore. He was her faithful companion, always by her side. He was her wings, and so much more. But the last thing she wanted was to ponder about how much their bond grew during those three months together.

She looked deep in thoughts so he added without thinking, "Besides, I already did all of this, when you were unconscious."

She glared at him with furious eyes. _Wooops, maybe he shouldn't have say that_, the raven-man thought at once.

"I beg your pardon?" she hissed.

"I-I applied the balm on your back while you were u-unconscious," he stuttered. Now he _knew_ he was in big trouble.

"How _dare_ you?" the fairy snarled, staring at him with fierce emerald eyes. She tried to straighten in her bed, but pain shot through her back, and she stayed still, wincing from pain and anger.

Even knowing she was way too weak to harm him in any way, her ferocious eyes made him quaver oddly on his chair. She frightened him to death right now, but he had to convince her, otherwise, she would never get better. So he gathered what was left of his courage, and he hurriedly explained.

"That's not how you think, Mistress, I swear! I didn't want to disobey you, but it was either that or letting you die, so I _had_ to do something." He fidgeted nervously on his chair and added with a whining voice, "I'm sorry Mistress, but I didn't want you to die."

The fairy narrowed her eyes at him. She believed him, all right, but she was still furious. She knew he took the right decision, but she wanted to find a good reason to blame him anyway.

"How come you didn't just call healer fairies to take care of me? You could have killed me by being so negligent!" she snapped at him. "And where did you get the balm, anyway? What if it had worsened the infection?" she inquired, even if she knew that wasn't true, as the pain in her back had lessened since yesterday.

He raised an eyebrow at her. Was she accusing him of letting her die by carelessness? He struggled against the urge to ask her just who she thought she was to scold him on that matter, and answered anyway, "I figured you didn't want all the folks of the Moors seeing you like that, so I only summoned one healer fairy, she told me what was the problem and how to heal you, then I brought you here, so your secret was safe. About the balm, she showed me how to brew it."

He lowered his head and closed his eyes a few seconds as silence filled the air uncomfortably. There was a very big chance she would scold him anyway, pointing out she would have rather had the healer fairies to tend to her wounds, and that furthermore that wasn't his place to decide such things.

However, her face began to soften, and her muscles relaxed a bit. When she thought about it, he did manage admirably, considering that three months ago, he was just a bird. He saved her life and her pride this day by taking conflicting decisions, and it seems his interests were lying with hers all along.

"As a matter of fact… I have to admit you handled the situation quite well," she finally let out absent-mindedly.

He looked up at her with wide eyes, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Except my advanced state of panic… I guess I did," he playfully praised.

She glanced at him for a few seconds. He had the joyful expression of the loyal servant that was just glad to have pleased his mistress even in the worst situation.

She finally rolled back on her stomach with a wincing face. Now, she was pretty sure she could trust him on this to not take advantage of the situation in any way. It would be awkward and uncomfortable, but at least it would be done.

"Alright. Do it."

"Yes, Mistress."

**Special thanks to RavenDiablo again for beta-reading.**


	5. Staying

**Another little chapter for you guys. I'm currently very busy but in a week I'll be able to write more. **

**DancingKitKat : That's really a shame when a fandom is disappearing, but if you want to have a Maleval chat, you know where to find me ^^**

A few hours before dawn, Maleficent was still awake, her fingers entangled in her servant's hair. She didn't even know when she started playing with his dark locks, but it kept her awake, and sort of eased her mind. To be honest, she was a bit disturbed. What happened the day before totally changed the way she saw her companion. She couldn't think of him as a mere servant anymore. His behaviour made her almost think of him as her friend. Her pet friend, she corrected wittingly.

She looked at him while he was sleeping and leaned her head back on the pillow next to his. She had spent the night trying to fight the feeling, but now she eventually admitted it: she liked this. His arms around her, his smell, even his touch, it made her feel safe and cared for. That was crazy, but she could get used to this. Not for lovey dovey purpose, definitely, but she could come to him if she happened to miss the sky too much or so. For comfort, she thought at once. Yes, his arms made her forget about everything else and lessened her pain, so why not making good use of them, once in a while? At least, during the little time left she had with him.

"Doing a little bit of morning preening, Mistress?" he said drowsily, leaning into her touch.

She suddenly withdrew her hand, realizing he had awakened, and watched him yawning. It was still very early. The sun hadn't even started to rise.

"Go back to sleep," she said in a hush.

"Will you keep preening?" he inquired with a pleading voice.

She smiled at the question. She knew he liked this as a raven, and she had quickly found his favourite spots for her to scratch. However, she never did such things when he was a human. Maybe his favourite spots were just the same? Her hand climbed up to his scalp and she stroked at the base of his skull.

He let out a delighted groan and tilted his head to grant her better access. He liked this so much, he wished he could do the same to her, but he figured he'd find a better time.

Barely a few seconds later, Diaval began to feel sleepy again, feeling his mistress' sweet hand stroking him gently. He stayed silent for a while, enjoying her touch, his mind wandering between dream and consciousness.

"I'll always stay with you, Mistress," he mumbled docilely. "That way, I'll be sure no harm will come to you anymore."

Maleficent smiled. She wasn't sure he was awake or not, but in any case, she liked those words. Unfortunately, she had learnt from experience that words couldn't show the true nature of someone. Only time and actions could. Staying to protect her? She had heard that before. It wasn't that she didn't want to believe him, but she just couldn't. _For now. _She almost thought, but she quickly remembered she would have to free him soon. She had to tell him.

She stopped her petting and placed her hand on his chest. "Diaval," she called, asking for his full attention.

The raven turned man opened his eyes and looked at her, silently asking what was on her mind. No expression was shown on her face, but he noticed her eyes were darker than usual

"You don't have to do that anymore. You saved my life already, that means your debt is paid. I'll free you as soon as I get better, so you can go back to your life."

At this, he stopped breathing for a moment.

"W-What? Why? I want to stay with you!" he protested vividly.

Maleficent raised an eyebrow at him. What got into him? Yes, he proved himself to be a caring soul and a faithful servant. But wasn't he tired of following orders? Didn't he want to be his own master again? Free souls, that was what winged beings were supposed to be, she thought with bitterness. His rightful place was out there, so why did he want to stay?

"Why would you wish such a thing, silly bird?" she managed to say calmly.

The raven-man took a few seconds to think this through. He was absolutely sure of how he felt, but it was difficult for him to put this into words. Not to mention he didn't want to scare her with too much caring.

"I… I'm sure I'd get really bored if I'd go back to my raven's life now. Besides, you're _my_ mistress. I don't want you to replace me with some other bird," he nearly whined. "I don't want to share my mistress," he added sulkily.

She chuckled lightly and leaned her forehead against his chin, breathing into his neck. "Such a possessive little bird you are."

She kind of liked that spirit of his, not being willing to share her. It made her feel even more special than she knew she was; special to him. While she thought about it, she felt very much the same. She didn't want to share him either. He was _her_ pet.

He answered by squeezing her gently, and she added in a hushed voice, "If it is your wish to stay, you may stay."

"Thank you, Mistress," he whispered, resting his head against hers.

**Thanks again to RavenDiablo (and sorry for not answering you for over a week, how rude)**


	6. First Joke

**Here's another chapter. Thank you for your nice reviews, I'll try and write more now that I'm in holidays, but I'm not sure I'll be able to publish next saturday. Sorry in advance.**

Maleficent woke up in the late morning. She cursed herself as soon as she realised she didn't manage to stay awake the whole night. She couldn't trust him on that just yet. However, when she thought of it, what was left for her to lose, anyway?

"Diaval?" she called as she noticed he wasn't cuddle up against her.

That was weird. She couldn't see him or touch him, but she did recognize his smell. She turned her head, following the scent, and discovered his long coat on top of the blanket covering her. She smiled and lay down on her stomach. That probably meant he was going to come back soon. The winter was on his way, and it was not like him to wander for too long in the cold weather without proper clothing. She also found a black feather next to her head, where he was supposed to be. It must have fell from his hair. She took it in her hand and slowly dozed off to sleep again, thinking that maybe she could trust him on this, after all.

The sound of footsteps woke her a few minutes later. She opened her eyes only to see her servant putting down a basket of food and a canteen on the chair next to the bed.

She yawned and rolled on her side with ease. The motion wasn't that painful now.

"Good morning, Mistress," he said cheerfully.

The fairy glanced at him with peaceful eyes. He was so sweet and full of life, it was almost like his presence warmed her chest. Her heart smiled to him, but her face remained stern out of habit.

"Where were you?" she inquired, a bit sharper than what she intended to.

"Not very far. I didn't want to leave you but I had to grab some food and water. I left my coat so you wouldn't worry."

"That was very thoughtful of you," she admitted quietly, nodding in appreciation.

For this time, she chose to spare him the scold about the cold he would catch if he didn't wear proper clothes in such a chilly weather. She didn't have the patience to explain why his well-being was more important than his caring behaviour towards her, even though she liked that very much.

The raven turned man couldn't help but smile when he noticed she was holding one of his black feathers. He didn't say anything, though, and watched her hide it under her pillow. Surely she didn't want him to make a big deal out of it.

"Help me sit, Diaval, will you?" she commanded, extending her arm toward him.

_Wait. What?_ Diaval thought at once. Wasn't it too painful for her to move? He didn't want her to get hurt!

"Mistress, are you sure?" he asked in a worried voice.

It was true the pain was still there, but it wasn't that bad. He did a good job with the balm, and her magic seemed to help as well, she could feel it growing inside her, each day a little more. It was all for the better, really, because she couldn't wait to go back home. She missed the Moors, and she missed her tree.

The fairy looked up at her servant and remembered he was waiting for an answer.

"Yes, Diaval, I'm all better now, don't worry," she said, a bit annoyed at him questioning her orders.

He didn't seem convinced, and just looked at her with a sceptical face.

She sighed heavily. That was going to take _ages_ to convince him, so she added:

"Besides, if us fairies don't stay in motion for too long, our blood stops circulating, dries up and we will die."

At this, Diaval went white. He looked at her agape for a second, and hurried by her side.

"What?" He yelped and took her arm to help her sit in a rush. "You never told me that! Are you ok, Mistress?"

She gasped at the sudden pain when he pulled her, but ended up chuckling at his expression. He was so easy to fool, that was almost cute. She couldn't blame him to be so credulous, really, because she usually never joked.

As soon as he realised she was mocking him, he took an offended look and crossed his arms on his chest sulkily. She got him. He should have thought the healer fairy would have told him about this if it was true.

"Mistress, that's mean!" he whined.

"Sorry Diaval but the look on your face was priceless."

A slight smile appeared across her features. As everyone from the human land, he didn't know much about fairies and all the other creatures of the Moors, but at least, he had found an interest on them. Maybe she should take some time to tell him about all the plants and creatures of her realm. She had never thought about it before, but it was only normal for him to get to know his new home better. She'll start by the more glowing living forms, as she had noticed he was particularly drawn to them.

"Come sit with me, sweet bird," she offered.

They ate together on the bed, enjoying some small talking. He gladly welcomed her intention to tell him more about the creatures of the Moors, and even started to ask a few questions about them.

When they finished, the fairy commanded her servant to tie up her gown before going spying at the castle for the afternoon. He didn't like the idea to leave her alone at first, but she's been fearfully persuasive.

"I don't know how to tie the cords, Mistress," he admitted shamefully.

That wasn't really surprising. Being a bird, how could he know about it? However, he should have learnt somehow, because she remembered he did tie up her gown when she was unconscious.

"Didn't you do it already?" she asked him, puzzled.

"Yes, but it took me a lot of time, and I couldn't do it again. Besides, it was really messy."

She sighed. Well, it was a fact: he still had everything to learn about being a human. She neglected to teach him things on this matter because of her bad condition, but from now on, she intended to take better care of him. He deserved it after everything he was doing for her. Not to mention, if he truly wanted to stay with her, the more he knew, the more useful he would be.

She suddenly realised that was going to take a huge amount of time for her to teach him everything he needed to know: making a fire, cooking, swimming, and so much more. But the truth was, she didn't mind spending time with him in his human form now. On the contrary, she found it quite pleasant.

"All right, I'll show you." She said, as two black ribbons appeared in her hand.

"Really? Thank you!"

He really was grateful. She couldn't imagine how hard it was to not know things that appeared as simple as that for other humans. It reminded him every time that he didn't belong with ravens anymore, and that he would never belong with humans either. But when she was close to him and shared things like now or even last night, it didn't matter, because he knew the only one he wanted to belong with was her.

He let her tug his right ankle closer to her. She circled it with one of the ribbons and handed him the other.

"Look carefully and do the same with yours," she simply ordered, waiting for him to mimic her actions.

He obeyed, and watched scrupulously every one of her movements while she showed him, trying not to be distracted by the tickling of her fingers against his ankle. She then untied her ribbon and did it again, this time stopping at every step for him to catch up. After a few minutes, he managed to make a proper knot.

"Good. Now if you did it well, it should untie itself by pulling one of the long cords."

He pulled it slowly and the knot untied itself. He raised its gaze to look at her with marvelled eyes. "It worked! Did you see that?" He stated excitedly.

She chuckled and nodded, "Yes, Diaval. It was a very nice knot," she praised.

She proceeded to untie the other ribbon, but he stopped her by moving his ankle away.

"Will you let me try with yours?" he inquired, almost shyly.

She eyed him a minute and moved her own ankle right before his hands without a word. The fairy watched him closely tie the ribbon around her, head high and with pride on her face. She didn't know what that meant for him exactly, but she didn't… well, disliked the idea of being connected to him that way.

When he finished, she took a second to look at the lovely knot and put her legs back together.

"Good. Now, do my gown," she ordered, coming back to her senses.

She turned slightly to give him access to her back. A few days ago, she would have preferred torture over this, but she was now relieved to be able to trust him with this.

The raven turned man tightened the laces and tied them into a knot.

"I did it, Mistress!" he exclaimed at once.

She chuckled at his childishness. Of course he did it. Ravens were very smart birds, after all.

She was glad she taught him. This kind of exercises would help his finger's dexterity to grow. She remembered the first day they met: he could barely move them.

The fairy turned to him "Clever bird," she said, curving her lips up a little. "Now go," she added with a flick of her hand.

An instant later he was back to his original form, flying in mid-air. He knew he was supposed to fly off to the castle, but instead, he landed before her and cawed.

"What?" She asked flatly, looking down at him.

He cawed again, and landed on her shoulder. Before she could do anything, the raven rubbed his head against her cheek and flew off of the window.

Maleficent watched him fly away until he disappeared into the sky. She touched her cheek, right where he stroked her skin with his soft feathers, and she couldn't help but smile. Such a good pet, and such a good friend, she thought.

**Many thanks to RavenDiablo once again. Go read his fanfiction ^^ If you don't find it on , just type Maleval I'm Alive fanfiction on Google ;)**


	7. Warm and Comfy

**Hey there ! Sorry for this christmas break, but I'm back ^^ I'll try and publish every saturday from now on ;)**

Diaval returned at the ruins an hour before night. The fairy changed him into his human self, listened to his report and hastily sent him grab some food and water. She didn't want him to be out after nightfall, especially within those woods. If something was to happen to him, she wouldn't be able to help and she hated that thought.

When he got back, they ate together on the bed once again, and he proudly showed her the herbs he had found to brew another balm for her back.

"Speaking of which, I have to apply it before bedtime," he reminded her nervously.

_Great_, thought Maleficent with irony. He could never remember to cover his mouth with his hand while yawning, but _that_ he remembered. She just didn't have the will to go through the trouble of arguing with him again. Things hadn't gone that bad last time, and if it could get her to her feet faster, she wouldn't object. She nonetheless hoped they wouldn't have to endure this on a daily basis.

"Do you have to do it every day?" she inquired.

"Yes, at least until the infection is gone," he said, sitting back next to her on the bed with the balm. "After that, the healer fairy told me you would brew another balm that ease the pain to apply when it's too painful."

So as soon as her life wouldn't be endangered by the wounds, the choice belonged to her. That was acceptable. She wasn't sure she would be willing to put aside her pride and ask for the balm, though, but she trusted him to notice when she was in pain and talk her into it. He was a very perceptive bird. As for the balm he talked about, it was pretty easy to brew, and the herbs needed for it were very common.

"Alright," she finally said, shifting her sitting position a little to let him access her back.

She noticed he was unlacing her gown with trembling fingers, in very slow motions. The fairy remembered how hard it had been for him to confront her stumps last time, and she wondered if the same thing was going to happen again. She felt him parting the fabric gently and waited for his touch, but it didn't come. After a minute, she turned around.

He was looking down, taking deep breaths. He didn't want to cry again. It felt so gross and stupid. He didn't want his mistress to think that of him.

"Diaval? Are you going to be ok?" she asked in concern.

He raised his head to look at her with tormented eyes. The raven turned man ended up answering her with another question: "Mistress, how do humans stop crying?"

She smiled. Truth is, she was expecting something like that. Crying must have been a very distressing experience for him. It was only normal he didn't want to go through that again.

"Most of the time, they can't. It takes a lot of will and inner strength to avoid crying. The best advice I can give you is to think about something else," she explained quietly.

He lowered his head again, before replying, "I don't know if I can do that."

It didn't matter anyway, he thought at once. He would cry but at least she would heal, and that was the most important. But suddenly, a thought struck him. He raised his gaze to her and he found himself speaking before thinking, "How…"

He stopped, remembering it was not his place to ask such things.

"Speak your mind, Diaval," she encouraged him.

"How do you manage? How come you never cry? How are you so strong about it?" he asked, his voice filled with admiration.

She liked his tone. It made her feel like she was still amazingly brave and strong. To be honest, since her wings were stolen, she had always thought of herself as weak. Both because she hadn't see Stefan's betrayal coming and because of what was left of her now. She never expected she would find someone that made her feel so different from that.

Their eyes locked, and she answered him with a weighty voice, "You shouldn't try to mimic me on this. You are too kind to be messed up by such emotions."

The resolve in her voice convinced him not to insist.

"Ok then. I'll try to think about something else."

She nodded and turned around, exposing her back to him once more. She was kind of hoping he would start low like the other time. She could have asked for it, but that would be conceding she liked his touch, and it was out of the question to let him know he had such a power over her.

She barely managed not to moan when she felt his hands on her lower back. She enjoyed it even more this time as the pain had lessened.

As for Diaval, he grew a liking to touching her and kept massaging low, only to feel her bare skin against his fingers a little longer. He had thought she would get mad at him for staying this long on the same spot and was paying close attention to her reaction, but she didn't seem to get annoyed, and she didn't protest either.

The two of them shared a very pleasurable moment, but eventually, he had to reach the infected area encircling the stumps. He applied some extra balm, hoping her scars would heal faster and that it would be less painful that way. Her body tensed the second he touched the stumps and she took a sharp breath. The lump in his throat was growing and he tried to think about something else, but his eyes and thoughts were drawn to her ripped wings.

She turned to face him as soon as he had finished tying the knot of her gown. A few tears were silently rolling down his face. He smiled at her genuinely to let her know he was ok, and she smiled back.

Outside, the sun was long gone, and the only thing lightning the room was a single candle on the rock next to the bed. Maleficent blew it out and pushed the blanket to lie down in the bed. She settled on one side of it and extended her arm toward him.

"Come," she simply said.

Her back was still aching and she wanted him close. She had noticed yesterday how his arms around her seemed to soothe her pain and ease her mind, even though the situation was still kind of disturbing for her.

He docilely obeyed, lying down on his back next to her. She pulled the blanket on top of them and proceeded to cuddle up against him.

"Hold me," she whispered to his ear when she noticed he was hesitating.

The first time they cuddled, he held her because he was responding to her embrace. He couldn't make the first move on his mistress without her asking. It just didn't feel right.

He slowly circled her waist with his arms, pulling her gently to his chest.

She let out a contented sigh and moved her face forward to the crook of his neck. Like the day before, she had one arm resting on his chest and the other under his nape. The fairy was a little sleepy, but forced her mind to do some thinking in order to stay awake. Even if she trusted him, she wasn't ready to give up willingly on slumber just yet.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, and she called for him.

"Diaval?"

He answered with a little groan while yawning.

Maleficent held back a deep sigh as he – yet again – forgot to cover his mouth.

"I hope you know this doesn't mean we're going to sleep like this all the time," she pointed out rather coldly.

That was a point she had to clarify with him, so he wouldn't see too much into those stolen moments. To be honest, she liked being in his arms, but she didn't know if she could afford that kind of closeness with him, as it would never be more than a way to get comforted for her. She didn't want him to imagine it could lead to something more, because there was absolutely no way that would happen.

"Don't worry Mistress, the nest you made me is also very warm and comfy," he answered with an understanding voice.

He seemed to accept the situation quite well, so she dropped the stern look and her features relaxed.

"Speaking of which, I was considering moving your nest up to my tree. What do you think?"

"Sounds great. That way you won't have to yell at me when you need me."

At this, she raised her gaze to meet his.

"I never _yelled _at you," she protested with an outraged look.

"You sure did, Mistress. It actually took me two weeks to understand you weren't mad at me all the time," he explained.

_Hmm, maybe she did_, thought the fairy. However, she hated to lose an argument, even if she was wrong.

"No," she insisted with a firm voice. But then her tone lightened, and she added, "I only spoke… _rather_ _loudly_."

Diaval looked at her, totally stunned. Was she joking? She almost never joked before. He studied her face closely, and at the dim light of the moon, could catch a glimpse of amusement in her eyes. He then chuckled lightly, and her lips curled up into a peaceful smile. _That was a good one_, he thought.

A serene smile appeared on his face as well. He was glad to see her so light-hearted, and he liked holding her. He didn't remember feeling this good before and was utterly relishing the moment.

He was assuming, even without her telling him, that this wouldn't last, that it happened only because of unusual circumstances. But something was bugging him about the way she said it, and he had to be sure.

"Mistress? Does that mean we're never going to sleep like this again?"

She remained silent for a while, choosing her words carefully, then let out a deep sigh and finally answered, "I'm… not sure. I have to think about it."

Her servant looked at her, agape. Was she really considering doing it again? A warm feeling went through his chest, and he breathed shakily. That was more happiness than he could handle.

The fairy felt the change in his breathing and even though she wasn't sure what had caused it, she tried to lighten the mood.

"So… You feel warm and comfy?" she asked, amused.

"Sure," he said at once. "You?"

She held him tighter.

"Very," she breathed into his neck.

**A lot of thanks to RavenDiablo and DancingKitKat for beta-reading ;)**


	8. The Agreement

**God, that has been a looooong week end xDD I couldn't even write, but fortunately, I still have some chapters to publish ^^ In this one, you'll understand why the title. Enjoy!**

The fairy tried to not fall asleep this time again, but she dozed off less than an hour after her servant.

When she woke up, he was still fast asleep, and the growing light of the room indicated to her that the sun was just beginning to rise. She rolled from his chest to her side, and watched him more closely. His arms hadn't moved during the night, and were still around her. His face was peaceful and his eyes seemed to move under his eyelids. He must be dreaming, she thought with amusement. Her hand was still on his chest, and she started to stroke him in slow motions with her thumb. She was trying to figure out a way for this to happen again. It should involve strict regulations. She spent about an hour thinking this through and making up the perfect rules.

After that, she let her mind wander and noticed her hand had worked its way to his hair. Instinctively, she thought about removing it, but she ended up combing his dark locks absent-mindedly with her fingers, scratching his scalp every now and then.

A few minutes later, Diaval woke up with a moan and leaned into her touch.

"So you _do_ like preening in the morning," he teased with a sleepy voice.

She brought back her hand to his chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Or you could just say 'good morning', like a normal person," she taunted sharply.

"Good morning, Mistress," he conceded with a soft smile.

She smiled back and snuggled more comfortably against him.

"Good morning, my pet."

He raised his hand to arrange his messy hair, but felt something unusual.

"Hey, what did you do to my hair?" he inquired, holding a strand of intertwined hair.

She took a peek at the lock he was holding and simply answered, "I braided them."

His brows furrowed. He had never seen anything like that before.

"Why? Is that magic? Can you undo it?"

The fairy sighed at his cluelessness, but replied anyway, "I got bored. No and yes."

She reached for his hair, brushed his hand away and untied the braid.

"There. Do you want me to teach you?" she asked with impish eyes.

"Sure!" he exclaimed happily.

He liked it when she took the time to teach him things. It felt like she was taking care of him, and that was something he truly missed during their first months together. Not that she _never_ took care of him or anything, but not as much as she was doing now.

"Ok, then. Sit down and help me out," she commanded.

They sat against the wall, legs and shoulders touching slightly, and Diaval used the pillow to support his mistress' back without causing her pain. He spotted at once the black feather that was lying under the pillow all this time and put it next to him. The sight of black feathers had always reassured him when he was in human form, and from what he saw yesterday, that was the same for his mistress.

Suddenly, he noticed something weird and pulled his ankle out of the blanket.

"Wait. What happened to my ribbon?"

"It vanished. I can't create physical objects for too long," she explained.

Another thing he didn't know about her. Her magic seemed very complicated. He wondered if one day he could fully understand it.

"Alright, we'll practice with my hair. It will be easier for you," she said, bringing him back to reality.

She chose two locks of her hair and handed him one.

"First, you have to separate it in three equal strands. Hold them like this," she showed him. "That's good. Now, don't move and watch me."

She started slow to show him the movements and increased the rhythm. Diaval couldn't help but marvel at the agility of her fingers.

"There's no way my fingers can do that," he whispered to himself.

"Nonsense. It is very easy. Even a _dog_ could do it," she teased, undoing the braid.

The raven turned man chuckled at that and watched her closely, mimicking her movements each time she stopped for him to catch up. It didn't take him long to understand how it worked, and he ended up performing a lovely little braid on his mistress, which began close to her earlobe. He even managed to entangle into it the black feather he was keeping.

"It's rather nice," she concluded, brushing over the little braid.

Her fingers lingered on the feather and it appeased her instantly. She was dearly missing the touch, even the smell, of feathers. That was why she patted Diaval so often when he was in his original form.

"I'm glad you like it, Mistress. Thank you for teaching me that."

She nodded at him once. Now, she had to find a manner to approach the awkward subject she wanted to discuss with him. She was totally averted to go through that, but if she wanted to keep using this disconcerting ability of his to comfort her, it was the only way.

"Diaval, I've done some thinking in regards of what you asked me yesterday," the fairy informed him with an even voice.

That was good, she thought. Starting by giving him the impression she only considered the question because he asked for it.

She ignored his puzzled eyes and proceeded: "As a matter of fact, I'm willing to let this happen again, but only under my terms. Does it seems acceptable to you?"

The raven turned man looked at her open-mouthed for a few seconds. The wonderful emotions he had felt every time they slept in each other's arms... It was going to happen again! He had no clue how often she planned on letting him sleep with her, but frankly, he didn't care. He was ready to wait for as long as she would decide to feel that again.

Remembering she was waiting for an answer, he managed to close his mouth, only to blurt out: "Y-Yes, of course, Mistress. What are your terms?"

"It will only happen when I decide it. You won't ask for it, nor initiate anything of the sort. You will wait for my impulse before making any moves towards me."

He nodded. It seemed perfectly logical to him. Until now, he never considered doing otherwise, and that wasn't about to change.

"It will only happen on the bed. I don't want you to mention what happened or may happen on the bed as soon as we leave it, to me or anyone else. Also, what happens on the bed won't change your behaviour toward me when we're not on the bed."

He nodded again, assuming she was referring both to this bed and the nest she owned back at home. This rule wouldn't be so difficult to follow either.

"It will only happen to comfort me. It will never evolve into something more than that, so you must banish from your mind any thoughts you may have about it meaning more. It will never happen. Never," she stated with a fierce voice.

He nodded again, even though he wasn't certain what she meant by "meaning more".

However, something was bothering him with that last condition, and he had to ask before agreeing to her terms. He didn't want to push his luck nor be seen as ungrateful, but it was now or never, and she seemed to be in a good mood.

"What about me? What if I need comfort sometimes?"

She eyed him. "I didn't think of that."

She quickly realised that was true: he too would need comfort sometimes. After all, everything started because she wanted to comfort him. The question was, will she be so kind as to care about him?

"I will take your needs into consideration as well," she finally said. "But that doesn't change the fact that you _won't_ ask for it. Are we clear?" She inquired, brows rising.

Her servant nodded again. He wasn't sure if she would be able to know when he would need comfort, but wasn't stupid enough to point it out directly.

"I trust you to notice when I'll need comfort, then."

"And I trust you to not hide your feeling nor amplify them to make me feel pity." She had a menacing tone in her voice.

She sincerely hoped he wouldn't get too stupid by trying to take advantage of the situation, or she would have to stop the whole cuddling-for-comfort thing. Something she didn't want to, to be honest. She liked the perspective of having a way to make the pain go away, even for a short amount of time.

"Alright. We have an agreement," he cut off her thoughts with a slight smile.

Their eyes locked and her lips curled up a little, "It appears we have."

Maleficent refrained from sighing in relief. That was done. She was glad he agreed to do this for her without too many demands, otherwise she was pretty sure she would have backed off. She really wasn't comfortable with the situation, and she wasn't sure were she was dragging them with those stolen moments together, but she didn't care. It made the pain go away. It felt good. That was something she wouldn't even have dreamed of feeling again after Stefan stole her wings, and she was ready to do what it took to feel this again.

Unconsciously, her body relaxed and leaned onto his, and before she could realize what she was doing and retract; he had leaned back on her. That was fair, she thought. He only responded to her impulse, just like she instructed him to do. The fairy placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. It definitely felt good.

**Many thanks to RavenDiablo and DancingKitKat for beta-reading me ;)**


	9. Back at Home

**Thank you everyone for following and reviewing this fanfic. Enjoy !**

A couple of hours before sunset, Maleficent and Diaval finally reached their cliff. The fairy had one arm around her servant's neck, and was holding a bag with her free hand. The raven turned man was clasping at her hand to hold her up, while his other arm was tightly clenched around her waist. They were walking slowly but steadily.

"I can see your tree, Mistress!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

The journey had been long and exhausting. If not for him, he knew it had been for her. She was panting heavily and he could feel her leaning more and more onto him. It would have been much easier to carry her, but he knew she was far too proud for that.

She lifted her gaze only to look at her home with relieved eyes. _Finally_, she thought. She didn't know how much longer she would have been able to keep on. The pain in her back was barely bearable. Maybe she should have waited another day or two before starting such a long trip, as Diaval wisely suggested. However, she grew tired of staying in bed – if one could call the hard-like-rock cot she had to rest in a bed. Besides, she truly hated those awful walls and wanted to go back to her nest.

They both sat on the huge knotted roots of the single tree standing on the cliff. After losing her wings, Maleficent had modelled its trunk and branches to form a light crook on its middle, and arranged moss and leaves to make a proper nest. She didn't trust her hammock suspended over the void anymore. She felt like she would fall off and kill herself at the slightest move.

Now she slept in this new nest, and if she wanted to occasionally welcome Diaval in it, she would have to make it a little bigger, she thought as she looked at it. She waited to catch her breath and proceeded at once to work her magic on the majestic tree.

"You will sleep with me tonight, Diaval. That way, I will be sure your beautiful self fits in my little nest," she teased.

He looked at her with a smile and figured she used what may look like a compliment in a hidden manner to thank him for helping her along the way. Or maybe she was just mocking him. He wasn't sure to fully comprehend just yet this cryptic human's habit of saying something and meaning something entirely different.

Nonetheless, he couldn't ignore the taunt and answered on the very same tone, "Does that mean I'm fat or anything?"

He was sure he saw the shadow of a smile crossing her features only for a second, while she was watching intently at the growing trunk. She did not smile often, but before he saved her life, she used to never smile at all. He figured that was a bit of an improvement. Whatever was the reason beneath it, he couldn't help but feel hope. Hope that she would heal and find the light once again. Hope that maybe he could help her get better.

"Diaval?" she called, cutting him off of his thoughts. "You will go to the castle now. Oh, and don't forget to bring back my staff."

He had neglected to take it when she passed out on the forest, a few days ago. Fortunately, he had assured her he remembered the exact location and would be able to find it in no time.

"Of course, Mistress," he said at once. He had answered out of habit, but remembered she wasn't having her best day. "Are you sure you won't need me or anything?"

He knew she could take care of herself and all, but he was still shaken about how she had left herself dying, and still couldn't understand why. Maybe it wasn't much and she would be ok now, but he wasn't sure. He didn't know her well enough for that yet. She was very good at hiding her feelings and he only started to see through her. That was something he had vowed to master, as he had vowed to stay by her side and help her in any way he could.

During his pondering, the fairy had emptied the bag at their feet. They had gathered food, water and herbs during their journey home.

"I will be pretty busy, don't worry," she said while sorting the herbs on the grassy floor. "Just bring me some twigs to start a fire before going."

As soon as he had put together a big enough pile of dead sticks next to her, she told him to be back by nightfall. She changed him into his original form and watched him disappear into the sky, wondering if she should have sent him to the castle, in the end. He already helped her walk all day and should be tired. She usually never asked him to work this much.

Suddenly, she wondered what he would do if she was to give him a day off. Maybe he had some relatives or raven friends to go visit? She never did it before, but perhaps she should consider granting him some free time once in a while. He was undoubtedly a very good servant and it was the least she could do for him.

While he was gone, she brewed the two different balms, both for healing and painkilling. After that, she moved Diaval's nest to her tree. She chose him a good spot, where he could overview the Moors by looking down and gaze at the stars by looking up.

By the time the darkness of the night replaced the last beams of day, she had cleaned herself, changed her clothes to something more comfortable and cooked a hot meal for the both of them. She didn't cook often, especially for him, but tonight she wanted to please her pet. Her pet-friend, she corrected with a smile.

The raven finally came back and landed to her right with her staff, before flying off to her left. He stretched out his arms with a moan when she gave him his human form and sat down next to her.

"You're late," she scolded, taking a look at the ebony stick that once was just a mere twig.

"Yes, sorry. I've had trouble finding your staff in the dark," he said apologetically.

He thanked her when she handed him a large bowl, before peering inside with a funny face.

"Soup?" he whined.

He liked vegetables, but when it was cooked that way, the taste was rarely the one expected, and he didn't like that. The only thing that could cover it up was-

"I've added some beetles in yours," she pointed out with an even voice.

He smiled widely at her, took a sip and let out a humming sound. She knew him so well.

"Best mistress ever," he whispered, loud enough for her to hear.

Her lips curled up a little and they ate in silence. She chose to let him eat without inquiring about what was up at the castle. When he brought back important news, he used to tell her right away, anyway. Therefore, she expected uninteresting banalities from tonight's report and didn't ask for it.

"I'm giving you a day off tomorrow," she announced after a while, piling up their empty bowls on the ground.

"A day off? What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"You won't have to go to the castle."

His eyes widened, "Really? Thank you, Mistress!"

Spying was so dull sometimes… Besides, he didn't like to spend so much time close to humans - especially _that_ human. The raven turned man never hated anyone before, even the farmers and dogs that hunted him at times, but from the moment he understood what had happened to his mistress, the only thing he felt towards Stefan was pure, wild, merciless hatred. He figured she was listening to his reports, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on him, and when the time would come, he would fully support her. Even though he never was one to enjoy the perspective of hurting others, he knew he would relish this moment.

The fairy didn't go through the trouble of mentioning that he didn't have to take care of her either, because she was pretty sure he would say he didn't mind, anyway.

They stayed silent for a while, before she gave in to her curiosity, "You don't like going to the castle?"

"I don't mind flying to the castle and reporting to you, but spying on stupid humans, that's really boring. Today, for example, the nasty one was taking dance lessons to attend to a royal ball or something. You should have seen him swearing every time he stepped on the poor teacher's foot. By the end of the lesson he couldn't even dance through the two first bars of the song, that was hopeless."

She didn't even wanted to know where he had learned what a "bar" was. She wasn't sure herself of what it was. Surely, he had witnessed some other lessons of some sort. Making him spy on the castle had somehow taught him lots of non-useful stuff, but it was for the best. The more he knew, the more useful he would be.

"Could you?" She inquired, truly curious.

She always wondered what was all the fuss about dancing. The other fairies here in the Moors danced while flying, but she had never been able to experience it since she was much too different from the others. Maybe at some point, Diaval could enlighten her about it.

"Well, I'm not sure. I never tried."

He yawned loudly while adding, "But maybe I could show you some other time?"

The fairy guided his hand to cover his mouth with a sigh. She gave in to the urge of yawning back and conceded, "Yes, we need some sleep. Help me get to my nest."

A few minutes later, they were sitting in the nest, and Diaval was unlacing his mistress' gown.

In the meantime, Maleficent closed the branches of the tree around them, like they were curtains. She did so every night since her wings were stolen, because she was so ashamed of what she had become she didn't want anyone to see her off-guard.

She sighed. What she feared the most revealing anyone had now become a habit between her and her servant. She didn't mind him watching or even touching her bare back anymore. The distance she wanted to keep between them had been crushed down, and there was nothing she could have done about it. Now he knew all about her sorrow, and she was letting him share her pain almost naturally, even though they've only met three months ago. That was crazy. Her life had taken such an unexpected turn. Nothing went as planned, and she didn't know what to think about it.

"The infection is almost gone, Mistress. I think tomorrow will be the last time I bother you with the balm," he said cheerfully, dipping his fingers into the newly made mixture.

"I may require your help in the future, if the pain gets too annoying," she remembered him stiffly.

Diaval didn't believe that, not after the scene they've been through for her to accept it the first time. He was pretty sure she wouldn't want him to do it again if it wasn't _absolutely_ necessary.

"Will you?" he inquired, his voice laced with amusement.

She didn't answer, but he wasn't expecting her to, anyway. Eventually, his wetted fingers came in contact with her delicate skin. He was much more comfortable doing this than before, especially since he wasn't causing her pain at every move. Right now, he was even wondering if there was the slightest chance she could appreciate the feeling. He knew he did. Her skin was so soft. The raven turned man always thought the velvetiness of feathers had no equals, but now he realised he had been terribly mistaken.

He bit back the lump in his throat when he reached the stumps. He was determined not to cry this time, and tried his best to think about something else, just like she told him. The sobs seemed to pull away the moment he focused his attention on the silkiness of her skin under his fingers.

Maleficent turned around to look at him when he had laced back her gown. She had to admit it, she just spent the most delicious moment in a very long while. Her back wasn't aching too bad, causing his touch to feel even more exquisite than the two first times. She didn't even care how bold he got, and didn't stop him from massaging her nape and shoulders after he had finished with her stumps.

Her lips curled up a little when she noticed he managed to keep the tears at bay.

"Lie down," she demanded in a whisper.

He obeyed and got under the cover, opening it for her to join him. She scooted closer, leaned on his form and murmured to his hear, "Open your arms, my pet."

He did so, encouraged by her gentle tone, and she cuddled against his lying body. She felt him sighing in contentment as he held her close into his warmth. There it was, the inexplicable feeling of safety his embrace never failed to provide her. She inhaled deeply into his neck, relishing the moment. She liked that far more than she should, but to hell with that. After everything she went through these past three months, she deserved a little bit of relief.

An awkward silence followed. They just began to realise the implications behind the fact that they were sharing the fairy's nest. It was new and almost frightening to both of them. Before, they had slept in a place that could be qualified as neutral, but now, she was sharing her nest, her home with him, and felt even more exposed. As for him, he wasn't really comfortable sleeping in a place he had been absolutely forbidden to go for so much time.

Feeling the growing tension, Diaval assumed that the only way to lighten the mood would be to talk. Even if it wasn't, it couldn't be worse, anyway, "We seem to be fitting very well in your nest, Mistress, don't you think?"

She looked up at him, noticing he seemed even stiffer than her. She let her hand climb up to his scalp, entangling her fingers in his hair, and stroked gently. It relaxed them at once.

"Yes, we do."

She heard him purr, and felt his head leaning on hers as he was trying to give her better access. She leaned back instinctively, and the warmth in her chest grew wider.

When she was about to give up on slumber, she heard him speak, "I see you moved my nest, Mistress. Thank you."

Glad he prevented her from falling asleep that early, she yawned and replied, "You're welcome, birdy."

The fairy struggled to not let her eyes close themselves. She didn't want to doze off before him, just in case. Therefore, she was kind of hoping he would keep talking, if only to keep her awake.

As always, he did everything she needed him to, even though he wasn't aware of it, "But Mistress, why didn't you build my nest on your tree in the first place?"

She looked at him thoughtfully, and didn't talk for a good minute.

Diaval feared he had pushed too far, remembering a little late that she didn't like it when he questioned her actions, but finally, her stern expression faded and her gaze lowered.

"Because I didn't want you to see or hear me if I had a nightmare," she said softly

At the end, she realised it wasn't that big a deal revealing this to him. Now that he had seen the worst part of her agony, she wasn't that worried about letting him know about this too.

She noticed his puzzled look, and frowned at him in order to make him speak his mind.

"I don't know what a nightmare is, Mistress," he confessed, a little bit nervous.

Whatever it was, he could guess by her tone that it didn't seem to be something very funny. He was hoping that wouldn't be too serious and could be dealt with. They already had so many problems that needed to be solved.

"It's a bad dream," she started, cutting him off of his thoughts. "When you sleep, sometimes, you feel like you're awake, confronted with awful situations, often your worst fears, and have no control on what is happening. It can be very intense, and make one's move violently and even scream during sleeping."

She felt him stiffen at her words, and she wondered if that ever happened to him. Surely not, as he spent most of his nights in his raven form. Birds couldn't dream, and that was for the best. She certainly wouldn't want any bird, especially him, to go through that.

"That's frightening," he pointed out after a while. "What am I supposed to do if that happens? Shall I wake you up?"

"Yes, I guess."

He tightened his grasp on her lying form, as if he wanted to protect her from something. He wished it wouldn't happen to her anytime soon. Tonight he would be there, anyway, and could wake her up if necessary. As for the nights he wouldn't sleep with her, his nest was close enough for him to hear if there was anything unusual going on.

Suddenly, he realised something: she had nightmares, which must mean that she had fears. That was disturbing. He couldn't imagine his powerful mistress being afraid of something. Even when she was about to die, she was anything but.

"Mistress? What are your nightmares about?" he inquired before thinking.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he shouldn't have asked that, and held his breath.

She managed to detain an annoyed growl. Just who did he think he was to ask her such things?

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped.

Maleficent felt the urge to change him and send him off to his own nest, but she knew better. It would give her great satisfaction at first, but it wouldn't be as comforting for her. When she thought about it, she didn't really needed comfort right now, but she just didn't want him to go. She liked the way he held her tight, and how his head was resting on hers.

"Go to sleep, now," she added grumpily.

The raven turned man let out a shaky breath. That was close. He almost recognised the look on her face when she was too pissed to let him talk and ended up turning him into his raven form. He truly enjoyed his original form, but in his human self, he could be so much closer to her. He liked that closeness, and the way it made him feel.

He noticed her angry gaze on him and obediently mumbled, "Yes, Mistress," before closing his eyes.

He shifted in the nest. It was truly uncomfortable, almost worst than the bed in the ruins. After she grew it, the moss and leaves weren't covering the whole nest anymore, and most of its bottom was just wood, now. Fortunately, she was half lying on him tonight, so she wouldn't feel it too much. However, Diaval wondered about the nights after that. She couldn't sleep like this. He came to slumber thinking he had to do something about it.

**Many thanks to RavenDiablo and DancingKitKat for beta-reading me ;)**


	10. Mischievous Pet

**Hi! Thank you for reviewing and following and favoriting, as always. I gotta warn you guys, this chapter is going to be fluff xDD**

The first beams of sunlight were peeking at the horizon when the fairy woke up. She yawned and nuzzled into Diaval's neck before closing her eyes again. His strong arms were still encircling her, pulling her protectively into his chest, and the last thing she wanted to do was to leave their warmth. After a while, she heard him yawn as well.

"Mistress?" he called in a hush voice.

She opened her eyes and lazily raised her gaze to meet his. The moment their eyes locked, everything around them seemed to fade. They exchanged a small smile, relishing the warm feeling spreading across them both, and before they even realised what they were doing, their noses bumped. Maleficent pulled back instantly, while the raven turned man was too stunned to react. He wasn't really sure he understood quite well what just happened.

"Good morning," he said, hoping to dissipate the awkwardness of the situation.

"Good morning," she replied softly.

Her tensed body gradually relaxed, lulled by his steady heartbeat under her. She longed for a little more time with him like this, but she figured he would like to enjoy his first day off starting as soon as possible. She got off of him, rolling on her side, and raised her hand, as if to transform him.

"So, what do I change you into for your day off?" she asked, frowning at him.

Seeing the golden magic already coming from her fingers, he couldn't help but cringe. He didn't want her to change him so soon. Who knew when they were going to sleep together again? It could be in weeks, months, maybe even years, so he had to enjoy the moment for as long as possible.

"I was hoping I could stay with you a little bit more before getting up," he replied shyly.

She let her hand fall back on his chest. Well, she couldn't say she wasn't glad to hear that. Furthermore, he probably needed some more rest.

"Fair enough, it's nearly dawn, anyway," she replied casually.

"Thank you, Mistress."

She yawned again and let out a light moan while stretching her back, arching it widely. She must have slept in a bad position, because it never ached that way.

Next to her, Diaval thought she was absolutely lovely stretching like that. He still was holding her curvy hips, and looked at her with a smile. She was reaching for her nape in order to scratch it. He liked the way she appeared so carefree and spontaneous right now. It was like the wall she had built around her had dissipated, just for a moment.

"Do you want me to scratch your back for you, Mistress?" he asked playfully.

She stiffened at his words and narrowed her eyes at him, hoping he wasn't serious. By the impish sparkle in his eyes, she could say he wasn't. However, a part of her was wondering _why not give it a try?_ She would never be able to reach the exact place she wanted to scratch, anyway, and her sleepy mind didn't help at all. She knew she wasn't fully lucid, but she didn't care. The only thing she needed to know was that his hands generally smoothed her pain. Not to mention she wished it would replace this damn mischievous expression of his by a funny face of some sort. His smugness only irritated her sometimes, and she liked seeing him dumbfounded, if only to mock him.

At the end, she fell back on top of him and closed her eyes, before saying sleepily, "Just scratch along the spine, will you?"

She smiled when she heard him gasp and could easily picture the funny face he was making. It wasn't fair to tease a poor little bird, but it was certainly entertaining.

He nonetheless obeyed, stroking more than scratching along the hollow of her lower back through the fabric of her gown, where he was sure it didn't hurt. The raven turned man didn't know what got into her exactly, but it wasn't like he had never touched her there, anyway.

"Harder, Diaval, much harder," She said with a sigh.

He pressed two fingers on both side of her spine, a third on top of it, and went slowly up and down, increasing the pressure on her skin. He still was a little afraid of hurting her, but trusted his mistress to tell him right away if that was the case.

Almost instantly, he felt her parting lips breathing heavily into his neck, and heard her moan something he understood as, "Hmmm, yes, like this."

She could feel his nails slowly lingering on each and every one of the vertebras on her lower back, causing a delicious sensation to go through her. Her heart was definitely racing, and her silent moans turned into light ones as he rubbed harder. Her body was going limp under his touch. How could she have been so stupid and let that happen in the first place? Now she had no control whatsoever on what was happening. She didn't care about the consequences anymore, and just wanted him to keep going. She barely managed to not bite the soft skin of his neck in pleasure as he reached a little higher.

Under her, Diaval was in no better condition than his mistress. He could feel her lips stroking jerkily his skin as she inhaled and exhaled shakily. He could also feel her breasts pressing against his chest, at the pace of his hand on her back, causing his heart to pound uncontrollably.

Before things get to escalate too much, he reached the spot between her stumps and they twitched awkwardly, causing her to jump up a little. The pair regained control of themselves as soon as the little incident ruined the moment.

"Mistress! I'm so sorry, are you ok? What happened? What did I do?" he urged, panicking.

She let out a deep sigh and her body loosened up against his. That was a sensation she hadn't experienced in a very long while.

"It's nothing Diaval, just a little reflex. When pushing right between my wings, they used to flap. It's not even painful."

"Oh."

Another thing he didn't know about her. That was interesting. He mused for a moment about how close it was to being ticklish. However, people were generally laughing when they were being tickled, and his mistress never laughed. Well, maybe she would if he was bold enough to try it again? He never saw her laughing before, but he certainly wanted to. This thought in mind, he couldn't help himself and did it again.

She let out an annoyed sigh after jumping up again. She assumed he didn't do it on purpose – he wouldn't be _that_ stupid – but when his fingers came in contact with her soft spot again, she slapped his chest violently.

"Will you stop?" she growled into his neck.

The fairy had to fight hard with her inner self to no give up on anger. He probably wanted to scratch her spine again and didn't reach high enough. As if to prove her wrong, he made her stumps twitch again.

This time, she rose instantly and glanced at him with ferocious eyes.

"Diaval, that's enough!"

Maleficent watched him froze with a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. Her sudden outburst seemed to have reminded him she had more than one way to make him suffer if needed. However, her eyes rounded into saucers when he did the most unexpected thing ever. He smirked. Hell, he _dared_ smirking at her! Somehow, his mischievous face woke a dormant part of her, and her eyes eventually mirrored his impish ones. She felt his hand climbing up to her back again. She knew what was coming, and if he wanted to play the bothersome one, she'd be ready.

"No, Diaval. Noooo," she warned, frowning at him knowingly.

Her reaction was immediate, before his hand could even reach the middle of her back, she had slapped him with the biggest and muddiest heap of moss that was scattered across the nest. With a victorious huff, she rolled on her side, looking at his muddy face with a defying expression.

"Awwww, Mistress, that's awfully gross!" he whined, withdrawing an arm from her waist to wipe his face clean with his sleeve.

"You started it," she pointed out sternly.

That was true, but he was glad he did. He didn't know if it was because she was still sleepy or because it happened in the nest, but the situation ended up being quite fun, and he was pretty sure she enjoyed it as well. He almost recognised a glint of amusement in her emerald eyes.

A few seconds later, his face was quite clean, but his sleeve was dirty, and he cursed himself when he realised he couldn't hold her until he would have cleaned it up as well. He dropped his arm away from her with a sigh. Maybe if he showed some remorse, she would get merciful and use her magic to help him out, so they could cuddle again?

"Sorry Mistress, but ravens are playful by nature," he said apologetically.

She eyed him from the corner of her eyes but didn't move.

"And you _have_ to be playful so early in the morning?" she spat, her voice letting show her deep irritation.

"Of course, or else you would change me right away and ruin all the fun. Did you enjoy slapping my poor self with that huge muddy stack of moss?" he inquired, as a little smirk appeared on his face.

"Much more than you think," she replied with a devilish grin.

He laughed, and their playful eyes locked for a moment. She was such fun in the nest. He wished things could go this smoothly more often between them.

As for her, she was kind of enjoying their slight bickering at the end. Even though she didn't like to be teased, she was absolutely sure she would always have the upper hand on her servant, leaving him with that helpless look on his face she found so funny.

She yawned and rolled back on him. She was still pretty tired, or at least, she wasn't ready to leave the nest just yet. Golden magic escaped from her hand, cleaning Diaval's sleeve, and it didn't took him long to snake his arm back around her.

"Do you want me to do it again?" he asked after a moment.

She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was up to, this time. In case he hadn't noticed, she had quite a temper, and even if she had remained pretty calm this morning, that didn't mean she would keep her composure indefinitely.

"What? Pissing me off? Yes, _please_, do that so I'll have an excuse to throw you off of my nest!" she threatened fiercely.

He chuckled at her impulsive reaction. Normally, he would have feared her tone, but he knew she was only half serious. Besides, he had no intention of pushing further. She hadn't laughed, but he was sure she had enjoyed.

"No, I meant scratching your back. I promise I'll stop annoying you," he assured her with a warm smile.

She let out a huff sound. As if he had a choice. It was either that or he would have to learn how to fly in human form, she thought ironically.

The fairy sighed and answered him on a casual voice, "Alright."

A few minutes later, her hand had made its way to her servant's dark locks, and she was rubbing his nape gently. The shadow of a smile crossed her features as he leaned his cheek against her palm. She was pretty sure he would purr right now if only he could.

She closed her eyes and let her body melt against his while he was stroking her back absent-mindedly. She just wished all the mornings could be as nice.

**A nod to RavenDiablo and lots of thanks to DancingKitKat for beta-reading and encouraging me**


	11. Getting Cozier

**Hi guys, I hope you'll enjoy this one, because that may be the last chapter in a while.** **I'm trying hard to write, but I don't feel like writing these days. **

The sun was sinking into the horizon when Maleficent headed back to the rowan tree. The day had been exhausting. Before her wings were stolen, it was a delight to patrol around the Moors. She flew wildly and took pride in all the chatters her presence triggered. Now she was forced to walk slowly and couldn't stand the whisperings behind her back. She knew it was either about pity or revulsion, if not mockery. She chose to trust Stefan, ignoring the advice of the fair folks, and now that she had been proved wrong, she couldn't face them anymore. Stefan didn't only take her wings and her heart that day, he also created a huge gap between her and the very people that raised her. Her friends. Her family.

She hastened her pace, hoping that would help her escape from her dark thoughts, and spotted Diaval on one of the lower branches of her – well, _their_ tree, she mentally corrected. He was preening his plumage meticulously. He surely spent the whole day lazing off, she thought with bitterness. She wished she could do the same once in a while, but with her responsibilities toward the Moors, and the slowness in which she had to accomplish her duties, it didn't seem quite possible.

The raven cawed at her as she approached, and waited for his mistress to sit on one of the huge roots to join her on the ground. They ate together the food they had gathered in a comfortable silence, watching the colourful sky as the sun was setting. Every now and then, Maleficent would stroke absent-mindedly her raven's feathers, causing him to either purr in contentment or rub his feathery head against her palm. It was so easy to be around him. He's never been afraid of her, or even distant. He acted nonchalantly, even though the effort she was making every day to appear fearful and dangerous. From any other, it would have annoyed her to the point she would have tormented the poor creature, but from Diaval, it was kind of an enjoyment.

The fairy stayed a few minutes deep in thoughts, watching the stars reveal themselves in the darkening sky.

She yawned and slowly turned to face her pet, "Let's go to sleep, Diaval."

The raven cawed and hopped on the ground to her lower back, rubbing it with his head, then came back in front of her and cawed again.

The shadow of a smile crossed her features. Even in this muted form, he knew how to make himself understandable. The fairy stood up and watched as his servant took flight only to land on her staff. He was looking at her intently. She looked at him back and raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't forgot," she pointed out, answering his silent question.

He lowered his head deeply, either to nod or to bow before her.

Satisfied with his humble attitude, she added in a hush voice, "Get in the nest. I'll come in a minute."

He obeyed at once, and preened again while waiting for her patiently. He started to have doubts about what he did today. Now that he thought about it, there was a risk she wouldn't like it, or worse: it could be seen as a way to bribe her into sleeping with him again. He mentally scolded himself for not thinking about this before, but what was done was done. He did what he did because he cared about her. It couldn't bring him into too much trouble, could it?

After a moment, he heard his mistress climb to join him, but he saw her freeze at the sight of the nest.

"Wh-What happened here?" she gasped, not recognizing her precious nest.

Her gaze met her servant and she narrowed her eyes at him. It had to be him, who else? One night in her nest, and he thought he owned the place, authorizing him to change everything in _her_ home? Who did he think he was? She trusted him enough to invite him in her nest, even to share her beloved tree with him, and that was how he thanked her?

"_You_ did this, didn't you?" she growled furiously.

Alarmed by the fearful glint in her eyes, the raven cawed frantically as she got into the nest. He had to explain, he had to convince her to change him so he could explain.

She broke eye contact with him and her expression softened when she inspected his work. Without a warning, she granted him his human form, closed the branches-made curtains around them and turned back to him with a stern expression.

He transformed in the middle of a loud caw and let out a human yelp, before folding his legs in a kneeling position and bowing his head.

"Mistress, please don't be mad. I can change it back to the way it was in no time if you don't like it," he said hastily.

Even if he had behaved far too bold in her opinion, she had to admit his work was rather fine, and it looked like her nest never felt this comfortable before. Considering this, she chose to give him the opportunity to justify his actions before suspending his human self over the void or performing any other form of punishment on him.

"Explain yourself this instant," she grated between her teeth.

Too happy to be given a chance to talk, he took a shaky breath and did as she wished, "I got really sore from sleeping in your nest the night before, and there was no way I would let you go through such an unpleasant experience tonight. I'm pretty sure it was uncomfortable just because you grew it so we could both fit in it, so in the end, it was all my fault. Therefore, I spent the day trying to fix it for you."

A part of her liked dearly his sweet and caring words, but she eyed him suspiciously in an attempt to find out if he was lying.

After a while, she realised his face showed nothing but pure honesty, and her expression relaxed. His story seemed accurate. She remembered now how he had grunted in pain when he got up this morning, and obviously, she couldn't have felt it because she nearly used him as a mattress all night long.

However, something was bugging her about his gesture. Since Stefan's betrayal, her instincts automatically associated kind attentions toward her with some sort of price she would have to pay, eventually. She had to be sure, even if it would hurt.

"And considering you worked so hard, I guess you would like very much to sleep in here tonight?" she spat, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Well I do not see why, Mistress. You don't seem to be needing much comfort right now, are you?" he asked innocently.

Her lips curved up slightly. There was at least one rule he had remembered. Besides, his reaction proved he didn't have any hidden purpose behind this gift. That was nice to know.

"Why didn't you just tell me about it?" she complained in a sigh.

"With your patrols, I figured you would have never find the time to take care of it."

She didn't even try to hide the smile that slowly appeared on her face, but it was certainly because her servant hadn't raised his head since he had started speaking so he couldn't see it, anyway.

He knew her well. Protecting the Moors would always be more important than her own well-being. Hopefully, she had found someone to care for her, she thought ironically. She didn't need him, of course, but she couldn't deny that keeping him around seemed to make things less difficult.

At this moment, Diaval's remorseful voice brought her back to reality.

"I know I'm not very useful to you because I'm just a bird and all, but I thought I could at least help you with your nest. I'm very sorry, Mistress, I shouldn't have..."

"No," she cut him off at once, far more harshly than what she intended to.

He shut his eyes and bowed deeper, expecting punishment. The raven turned man tensed as soon as he felt his mistress' cold hand touching his cheek, but a warm feeling soon filled his chest. She stroked his skin with her thumb and gently pulled on his chin to force him to look at her.

"Pet, you had very honourable intentions and I'm not mad at you. Besides, it's a splendid nest you made me. I must say I'm impressed."

He positively beamed at her words, and couldn't help but smile shyly. He was about to mumble some thanks, when she withdrew her hand from his face and added, in a more serious voice, "However, you have to understand that doing this, you broke one of the rules we agreed on yesterday."

His brows furrowed in confusion, and he ended up asking, "The 'what happens in the nest stays in the nest' rule?"

"See, you remember it quite well, then why would you break our agreement? If I can't trust you on this, there will be no more cuddling nights, do you understand?"

That was a threat she truly didn't want to put to execution, but if there was the slightest risk the situation would go beyond her control, she had to end it.

"Y-Yes, but… I figured… Well, what I did was in the nest, so basically, it _stayed_ in the nest… Don't you think?"

She looked at him for a moment, thinking this through, then her lips gradually curved up into a slight grin. His reasoning made sense, and she realised the implications behind this. She restricted their moments of closeness to the nest, and not only to their sleeping time. That meant whenever they were on the nest, she could ask him for comfort, and he would have special attentions toward her. That thought gave her a brand new perspective of the whole thing. One she immediately liked very much.

"You know what? I think you're right," she finally said.

He smiled widely at her light tone. She seemed to be happy about it, and the anger that twisted her features a little bit earlier had completely disappeared. He watched her examine the soft and downy wool that covered the nest.

"So… Would you care to tell me how you did it?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow at him.

Diaval's heart skipped a beat when he recognized an impish sparkle in her eyes. He liked it when she was being playful. It meant she was comfortable with the situation and the people around her. It meant she was comfortable right now with him, in her newly made nest.

"I brought stuff and I arranged it all. It wasn't that complicated, really. There are two layers. The first one is made of moss and a lot of leaves and the second one is made of wool and feathers. I was thinking about making you one of these pillows made with feathers, but instead I just made the layers bigger at the top, to raise the height a little bit for your head."

She raised her head with pride and tried her best to hide her astonishment. She was very impressed with his expertise in the area and how he managed to adapt a nest for a near human being. He really was clever when he wanted to.

Without thinking, the fairy slowly lay down on her side in the warm fluffiness of the wool covering her nest, facing him. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh of pleasure. It was like sleeping on a cloud.

"That is certainly the most comfortable nest I've been in," she complimented, looking at him. "It stinks of sheep, though."

The raven turned man cringed. He knew she would notice it, but he wasn't sure if that would bother her – she was very close to nature after all.

As there was nothing else he could do about it, he started apologizing, "I'm sorry Mistress, I washed the wool and then I tried to put some of my feathers in it to hide the smell, but-"

"It's alright, Diaval. I can get used to it," she interrupted him softly. "Besides, I'm pretty sure the smell will fade with time."

She wondered where he could have found the time to wash the wool above all. He succeeded in making the entire nest in less than a day, and in the form of a bird. That was pretty impressive.

Suddenly, she remembered today was supposed to be his day off. A wave of guilt came over her. She expected him to laze off, and instead, he worked twice as hard as he usually did to make sure she would sleep well. How sweet of him.

The fairy held back an annoyed sigh. Great, and now she was considering sleeping with him again tonight. She knew that idea was highly unwise. Neither of them needed comfort right now, and if she was to cross the line, who knew where that would lead them? Besides, a part of her wasn't totally convinced about her decision to seek comfort in his arms, so she couldn't take reckless decisions with this.

However, maybe she could find a way to express him her gratitude…

"Have you tried it out already?" she asked after a moment.

"Of course not, Mistress. I wouldn't dare lie in your nest without permission."

She nodded in appreciation. She was glad to see he still had a lot of respect for her home, even though he spent so much time in it, lately.

"I give you my permission now. Come," she queried, patting the empty space beside her.

He joined her cautiously, lying down on his back. Due to the narrowness of the nest, they were very close, almost touching, but both of them seemed perfectly at ease.

"So?" she inquired with raised eyebrows.

"So I'm pretty sure I'll be able to sleep properly with you resting on top of me, now."

He usually slept properly with her no matter what, but he wasn't sure how she would react if he was to tell her that the pleasure of feeling her close was outrunning by far any other discomfort he could experience. Before he could think further about all the wonderful sensation her closeness triggered in him, he saw her raise her upper body and leaned on one arm next to him.

"We'd better give it a try, just to be sure," she announced, locking eyes with him.

The raven turned man found himself captivated by the intensity of her gaze, but he wasn't sure what to do next. Should he hold her? Did she just give him permission?

"Shall I-"

"Shhh," she replied at once, leaning more closely on him. "No talking."

That wasn't helping. What was he supposed to do, now? Fortunately, he felt her hand on his waist before he could worry much more. He wasn't sure to understand quite well what she wanted, but something in her eyes was pushing him to act. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached for her, and finally snaked his arms around her when she lay down on his chest. He couldn't help but sigh in contentment as he sensed her warmth against him. He felt her nuzzling her way into his neck, followed by the familiar sensation of her breathing against his skin.

He became sleepy within a few minutes, and noticed she had already closed her eyes. She couldn't doze off like that. What about her treatment? Not to mention they weren't supposed to sleep together tonight. He yawned and shook her shoulder a little bit.

"Mistress?"

To his surprise, her reaction was immediate and her fully awake emerald eyes met his already sleepy dark ones.

"Hmm?" she mumbled on a curious tone.

"I'm pretty tired. Can I just apply the balm on your back and go to my nest?" he asked, before yawning again.

Rolling her eyes, she put her own hand in front of his mouth, with an exasperated glare. Honestly, will he ever be able to cover his yawning mouth himself? She didn't scold him, though. She knew he must be exhausted from flying and working all day in the only intention to please her. It was touching what he was ready to do for her well being, she thought while looking at him tenderly. That was the kind of little things that made her trust him a tiny bit more. However, the more she trusted him, the more she was scared. That was an issue she couldn't prevent for now, and that was why she had to keep being in control.

The fairy untangled herself from her servant and they sat up. She reached for the balm that was in a hollow inside of the trunk, where she was keeping her things, and handed it to him.

The dim light of the moon was just enough for him to see what he was doing. When the laces were unbound, he smiled at the sight of her back.

"Congratulations, you're fully healed, Mistress. There are still little reddish spots, but I guess they will be gone by tomorrow," he reassured her.

"Good work, pet," she praised, looking at the wool while he started to massage her lower back.

He was becoming very good at this, she thought, feeling her heart racing. It was a shame she wouldn't have the occasion to enjoy his touch anytime soon. Her muscles were melting at his firm caresses. God, it felt far too good…

"Are they all your feathers?" she asked, hoping that speaking would help her cooling off.

He followed her gaze to the numerous dark feathers that were covering the nest.

"Of course. You think I would contaminate your nest with other feathers than mine?" he said, as if the only thought of it was totally absurd. "I just went to my old nest and gathered every one I could find," he explained. "I also thought about putting some of yours, that were lying in your hammock, but-"

"No." she cut off at once. "Don't."

Maybe one day feeling them close would help, but for now, that was the last thing she needed.

"I won't, then," he mumbled wistfully.

It broke his heart to think he had awoken her pain. He wished he could take her into his arms right now to protect her from it, to make her forget about everything. Instead, he put even more dedication in rubbing her skin, wishing that would distract her from her tormenting thoughts.

The silence soon became unbearable, and Diaval hurriedly broke it, "You know, as a nest-making expert, I thought about some other improvements for your nest."

Now she was intrigued. He had done so much already, how did he plan to improve her nest further? And why? Perhaps it was because he was a bird, that his instincts were driving him to do these kind of tasks. Or maybe the whole thing was only to thank her for allowing him into her nest. In any case, she was wondering what he was up to.

"Really? Such as?" she inquired with mild curiosity.

"Well, first I thought about bringing some fabric that would feel soft to cover the wool, maybe another blanket. That way it won't itch or slid away if we were to move too much."

She raised an eyebrow, pondering over what kind of situation could possibly lead them to move that much in the nest.

"Also, instead of twitching the branches of your tree into curtains, you could make an ivy grow at the base and make curtains with it. That would look like a cocoon-like nest. Besides, I'm pretty sure we can find some species which leaves doesn't fall in winter. Or even glowing ones! Don't you have something like that in the Moors? That would be fun."

She smiled at his enthusiasm and took the time to enjoy his touch – he had just reached her favourite spot – before answering.

She had to admit it: he had very good ideas. She was far too preoccupied to have envisioned the long-term issues, like when the leaves of her tree would fall. With her faithful pet taking care of it, she would soon have the nest of a real queen. At the end, that would be the first time that something in her life had improved since Stefan took her wings.

"Glowing ivy plants? There are some in the Moors, yes, but they're not leafy enough to make good curtains. Besides, I'm not sure I want glowing things in my nest. It would feel too bright."

"Oh," he let out in a whisper.

She knew he liked glowing things a lot and could feel his disappointment, but it was_ her_ home, so the decision was hers. However, considering he would also spend some time in it, she assumed she could try to reach compromises with him in the future. That was something she intended to discuss later with him.

"But your ideas are quite good, actually," she said, leaning into his touch when he reached her shoulders. "As a matter of fact, you will come with me tomorrow morning to look for a proper ivy plant."

He smiled widely at her words. She was planning to do this with him. She wanted him to be involved in the construction of her nest!

He exhaled shakily, hoping she wouldn't hear him. He felt overjoyed, and couldn't help himself from thinking the situation was very similar to raven mates nestling for the first time together. He never found a mate of his own, but what he shared with his mistress was the closest he ever had from having a family, and he cherished dearly every minutes he spent with her.

"Sure, Mistress," he murmured warmly.

He started massaging her nape, enjoying the soft sensation of her silky skin under his fingers.

"Will we have enough time so you could also show me around the Moors a little bit? Like you told me at the ruins," he inquired hopefully.

She stayed silent for a while, thinking about it carefully. That may be bothersome but she had to show him around, so he could get to know his new home. She wasn't sure on how he would react, though. Everything here was so different from the life he came from. There were different creatures, different plants, even different rules. Would he be able to accept the change? He looked like a man sometimes, but originally, he was a bird and was a part of nature, so things should be alright.

"No. You will come back a little earlier from the castle and we'll do this as an evening stroll," she announced, gathering her hair to give him better access to her nape.

"Sounds great," he replied at once.

He tenderly rubbed her nape and shoulders for a few more minutes, before lacing back her gown.

"That's it, Mistress."

She turned around and they exchanged a smile, before she changed him into his original form. He flew to his nest immediately and curled into it, facing her.

She lay down with her eyes fixed on him, through the thick curtains she had modelled. With a wisp of magic, she levitated Diaval's nest to move it closer to her head. Then, the branches of the tree were soon bending around them both, allowing them to see each other.

"Good night, my pet. And thank you for this," she said with the most gentle voice.

He crooned softly at her, making her smile slightly. Their gaze didn't unlock until they both dozed off to sleep, comforted by the only presence of the other.

**Lots of thanks to DancingKitKat for beta-reading  
><strong>


End file.
